Exhibit 23.1


                               Consent of KPMG LLP


The Board of Directors
Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc.:

We consent to incorporation  by reference in the registration  statement on Form
S-8 of Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc. of our report dated November 10, 1998,
relating to the  consolidated  balance sheets of Johnson  Worldwide  Associates,
Inc. and subsidiaries as of October 2, 1998 and October 3, 1997, and the related
consolidated statements of operations,  shareholders' equity, and cash flows for
each of the years in the three-year  period ended October 2, 1998,  which report
appears in the October 2, 1998 annual  report on Form 10-K of Johnson  Worldwide
Associates, Inc.


/s/ KPMG LLP

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
September 29, 1999